COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONJosh’s translation of the French description..."Aged in the caves of Kanne, where the exceptional climatic circumstances give it a unique aroma and flavour without equal." In the U.S., the label will read "Grotten Brown Belgian Cave-Aged Ale." ABV of 6.5% or 6.7% depending on bottles.

Bottle from Beers of Europe. Almost opaque, dark red brown coloured with large off-white head. Aroma is very plummy, with a slight sour egde to it. Taste - very smooth, very nice. Malty, dark fruits some nice yeast. Complex and very impressive, quite carbonated, with a nice lingering finish. Excellent.

Nice dark brown beer with good fluffy and airy froth. Very elegant aroma’s of malts, spices and dried fruits. Taste is fine and complex whitout being overpowerd by very outspoken heavy hints. Outstanding smooth taste with a pure afthertaste and a fine freshness in the end.

Pours a murky brown, with a creamy beige head.
Head subsides to a uniform 1/4 in cap. A thin sheet of lace coats the glass.
Aroma is malty, plummy, winey with a slight sour note .
Flavor is malty, yeasty, hints of dark fruits, a bit of funky mustyness, a little clove spice. Slight hoppiness on the finish.

Dark amber beer with an orange gleam. Tall and foamy off-white head. Malt is dominating in the aroma along with spices and tones of flowers and cheese. Flavor of malt, hops, fruit, citrus, oranges, nut and a touch of alcohol. Sharp taste and a foamy mouthfull. Nice!

75cl bottle, no BBD Brown, decent head. Aromatic nose of must, dank earth, chocolate, chalk, mint, and fruit(overripe wild raspberries in a bowl)...smooth, mediium bodied, runs to a slightly metallic bite. Somewhat muddled to me, not as inviting as the nose...too carbonated, I think. Cork ripped out w/ no assistance from me other than loosening the cage. Turns into a decent dubbel w/ a peppery, bready sort of maltiness...mustiness hangs around.

Appearance: a deep, ruddy brown, no closer to violet, so let’s settle on eggplant, and possessed of a thick, fluffy, cream-soda-toned head of foam.
Aroma: Ah! Beautiful! Grapes, plums, raisins, more, with plenty of spice, tingling and tantalizing, stimulating, arousing, feeling both ancient and exotic and altogether inviting.
Taste: the fun continues on the tongue, with a luscious wave of hops, a brilliant blitz of spices. Very fun in the mouth, at first, hops and spice keep the palate occupied. But later on, disappointment arrives, as the mouthfeel dips in enthusiasm some, falters, mellows too much, the finish is not quite as we’d desire, a bit short, flat, light.
A pity that the initial promise did not deliver any greater complexities, but it’s a nice enough beverage as it is, just nothing too terrific.

Hazy brown in colour with a dense tan head. Aroma of sugars, fruit, malt and tart flavours. Medium-bodied; Nutty flavours with malt and little else. Overall, a nice beer and a great treat! I sampled this 75 cL bottle on 15-May-2004 at the May RB Party in Toronto, Ontario.

Murky brown color with a thin white head. Leathery yeast aroma with alcohol. Flavor of leathery yeast, caramel and alcohol, bitter finish. Light to medium body, soft carbonation, creamy texture. Well, this is the beer I like the least form St.Bernardus, on the brink of ordinary.

Obvious spice and caramel dominate your first impression of this Bruin beer. Very smooth somewhat candy-sweet and nutty flavours make it easy drinking but warn you against guzzling. Body is a little thin - maybe I should give it some of my spare tire....Not bad - cheers joey_capps.

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